His payment jumped up to an amount he couldn’t afford, so he stopped paying.

You are correct… if a person has 600k and they can afford to risk it going alone in a new country and that’s what they want to do with the money then why not go it alone.

The lower rate or longer term can also make the payment more affordable. 

In Massachusetts, helping your non paying tenants find new housing that they can afford and paying for their moving costs and new deposit can be cheaper than the long eviction process.

I an afford to sit on this property as its in the Yosemite AirBnb hot spot and don't need to do anything right away as its in a killer location.

Just remember there are less people that can afford the 1 million dollar plus houses than can afford the $300 to $400 thousand dollar houses .

Let's say you can afford to pay $300 plus that month's interest back to the HELOC every month.

You can try and fight it but does not mean you will be successfulI would also be curious to see what your property insurance looks likeFor me this is just another example that home prices are gonna eventually have to soften as between taxes, insurance and Interest rates home affordability is very challenging

I would like to think in a way that investment in general, and the real estate investment, start with a solid economic reason - "Why do you Invest, where you invested".To elaborate on below - Vegas is a great example where no real economic driver exists and when you invest there, you should be aware that is a highly volatile market (side note: i both 2 properties there in 2011 and 2012 and i sold both this year) and you should pay an extra attention and be prepare to reposition capital.It's clear, if you invest in Vegas or Orlando (just 2x entertainment cities) you will expect ups and downs and you need to position yourself with extra reserves and extra caution if you are planning to stay in these market for long term. 

I would purchase a duplex (or even better, purchase a SFH with as many bedrooms as you can afford and rent by the room), and then slowly improve the property.